We will post the starting lineups for the Semifinals here as we get them...
@SportingKC: Nielsen (c), Sinovic, Besler, Collin, Myers, Nagamura, Espinoza, Zusi, Peterson, Bunbury, Kamara @SportingKC bench: Cesar, Sapong, Saad, Kronberg, Harrington, Thomas, P Joseph
@PhilaUnion: MacMath; G Farfan, Valdes, Okugo, Williams; M Farfan, Carroll, Lahoud; Pajoy, McInerney, Adu @PhilaUnion bench: Konopka, Daniel, Gomez, Hoppenot, Albright, Martinez, Gaddis
@LiveSounders Starting XI: GK Meredith, D Scott (Cpt), D Hurtado, D Ianni, D Gonzalez, M Cato, M Alonso, M Rose, M Caskey, F Montero, F Johnson. SEA Bench: Ford, Parke, Burch, Evans, Ochoa, Fernandez, Rosales.
@CDChivasUSA Starting XI: GK Kennedy, D Califf, D Riley, D McKenzie, D Villafana, M Minda, M Zemanski, M Gavin, F Moreno (Cpt), F Cardozo, F Angel. CHV Bench: Melia, Valencia, Vagenas, Smith, Romero, Townsend, Correa.
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Quick Glance - Quarterfinal Lineups
Starting lineups for Quarterfinals will be posted here as we get them...
Philadelphia: MacMath; Gaddis, Okugo, Lopez, G Farfan; Carroll, Lahoud, M Farfan, Adu; McInerney, Pajoy Bench: Harrison, Albright, Daniel, Gomez, Torres, McLaughlin, Hoppenot
Harrisburg: Noble; Basso, Bixler, Marshall, Duckett; Pelletier, Noone, Welker, Langley; Ekra, Ombiji
Kansas City: Nielsen(c); Harrington, Olum, Besler, Sinovic; Joseph, Thomas, Zusi; Peterson, Sapong, Saad. subs: Kronberg, Myers, Warzycha, Espinoza, Bunbury, Kamara, Dwyer.
Dayton: Williams; Smith, Copier, Dias, Preciado; DeLass, Jones, McNamara; Garner, Bartels, Bardsley. subs: DeGroot, Holowaty, Kissinger, Knotek, Priestley, Robinson, Whisenhunt.
Sounders FC XI – Weber, Evans, Scott, Ianni, Gonzalez, Cato, Carrasco, Rose, Fernandez, Levesque, Ochoa. bench – Meredith, Burch, Hurtado, Caskey, Seamon, Johnson, Montero.
Earthquakes XI – Bingham, Beitashour, Bernardez, Opara, Morrow, Baca, Cronin, Moreno, Salinas, Stevenson, Gordon. bench – Busch, Alexandre, Chavez, Hernandez, Zayner, Wondolowski, Lenhart.
#ChivasUSA: Melia; Califf, McKenzie, Riley, Villafana; Vagenas, Gavin, Cardozo, Bolanos; Correa and Courtois bench - Kennedy, Jazic, Zemanski, Moreno, Angel, Romero, Agudelo
Charlotte: C Irwin, J Rife, L Williams, D Grousis, M Bloom, N Thornton, J Herrera, D Toby, J Guzman, D Roberts, & J Kabwe bench - Ferrer, Salles, Roberts, Meza, Salvaggione, Bateau, Reed
Philadelphia: MacMath; Gaddis, Okugo, Lopez, G Farfan; Carroll, Lahoud, M Farfan, Adu; McInerney, Pajoy Bench: Harrison, Albright, Daniel, Gomez, Torres, McLaughlin, Hoppenot
Harrisburg: Noble; Basso, Bixler, Marshall, Duckett; Pelletier, Noone, Welker, Langley; Ekra, Ombiji
Kansas City: Nielsen(c); Harrington, Olum, Besler, Sinovic; Joseph, Thomas, Zusi; Peterson, Sapong, Saad. subs: Kronberg, Myers, Warzycha, Espinoza, Bunbury, Kamara, Dwyer.
Dayton: Williams; Smith, Copier, Dias, Preciado; DeLass, Jones, McNamara; Garner, Bartels, Bardsley. subs: DeGroot, Holowaty, Kissinger, Knotek, Priestley, Robinson, Whisenhunt.
Sounders FC XI – Weber, Evans, Scott, Ianni, Gonzalez, Cato, Carrasco, Rose, Fernandez, Levesque, Ochoa. bench – Meredith, Burch, Hurtado, Caskey, Seamon, Johnson, Montero.
Earthquakes XI – Bingham, Beitashour, Bernardez, Opara, Morrow, Baca, Cronin, Moreno, Salinas, Stevenson, Gordon. bench – Busch, Alexandre, Chavez, Hernandez, Zayner, Wondolowski, Lenhart.
#ChivasUSA: Melia; Califf, McKenzie, Riley, Villafana; Vagenas, Gavin, Cardozo, Bolanos; Correa and Courtois bench - Kennedy, Jazic, Zemanski, Moreno, Angel, Romero, Agudelo
Charlotte: C Irwin, J Rife, L Williams, D Grousis, M Bloom, N Thornton, J Herrera, D Toby, J Guzman, D Roberts, & J Kabwe bench - Ferrer, Salles, Roberts, Meza, Salvaggione, Bateau, Reed
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
Fourth Round Starting Lineups
As usual, we will post the line-ups here as we get them...
NY RB: Starting XI: Meara, Barklage, Holgersson, Conde, Pearce, Solli, McCarty, Ballouchy, Lade, Arteaga, Cooper Subs: Vuolo, Maduro, Borrajo, Keel
Harrisburg:
Starting #ChivasUSA: Melia; Riley, McKenzie, Califf, Gordon; Gavin, Vagenas, Moreno, Courtois; Correa, Agudelo Bench: Kennedy; Valencia; Zemanski, Smith; Romero, Angel
RailHawks 11: GK Burse, D Elenio, D Agbossoumonde, D King, D Low (c), M Zimmerman, M Lowery, M Ortiz, M Da Luz, F Schilawski, F Shriver RailHawks Subs: GK Fitzgerald, D Finch, D Krause, M Millington, M Palacio, M Shipalane, F Ackley
Philadelphia 11: MacMath, Gaddis, Okugo, Valdes, G. Farfan, M. Farfan, Carroll, Lahoud, Adu; Martinez, Pajoy SUBS: Konopka, McLaughlin, Hoffman, Hoppenot, Hernandez, Pfeffer, Herdling
DC Starting XI: Hamid; Russell, McDonald, Dudar, Woolard; Najar, Kitchen, Boskovic, DeLeon; Salihi, Wolff (c) SUBS: Santos, King, Neal, Saragosa, Korb, White, Willis
Dayton XI: Williams, Smith, Copier, Dins, Preciodo, Delass, Knotek, Jones, Garner, Bartels, Bardsley. Dayton bench: Holloway, Robinson, DeGron, McNamara, Earton.
Michigan Bucks XI: Grinwis, Cope, Harris, Barson, Givens, Boyden, Caldwell, Catalono, Omekanda, Crnkia, Miller. Bucks bench: Teepn, Dillon, Saas, Steiberner, Grant, St. Louis, Uzoigwe.
Colorado: Pickens; Kimura, Marshall, Palguta, Freeman; Rivero, Larentowicz, Castrillon; Thompson, Edu, Cascio in a 4-3-3. subs: Ceus, Zapata, Ababio, Nane, LaBauex, Hill, and Akpan
Kansas City Starting XI: Nielsen(c); Sinovic, Besler, Collin, Myers; Cesar, Joseph, Zusi; Sapong, Bunbury, Peterson. subs: Kempin, Olum, Harrington, Saad, Thomas, Miller, Warzycha.
@SAScorpions Starting XI: Sattler; Cochrane, Wagner, Greenfield, Janicki; Pitchkolan, Harmse, Ramirez, Denissen; Campos, Bayona.
Charlotte Eagles Starting XI: Irwin; Bloom, Bateau, Grovsis, Rife; Guzman, Kabwe, Thornton, Toby; Roberts, Salles
#Sounders starters: Meredith, Scott, Parke, JKH, Burch, Cato, Alonso, Rose, Caskey, Ochoa, Montero. Sounders FC bench – Weber, Carrasco, Estrada, Evans, Fernandez, Levesque, Seamon.
Cal FC XI – Carrillo, Navarro, Espinosa, Randolph, Menjivar, Gonzalez, Arreola, Cruz, Aghasyan, Danny Barrera, Diego Barrera. Cal FC bench – Grill, Caceres, Werring, Paulo Ferreira-Mendez, Pedro Ferreira-Mendez, Torres, Riviera.
#mnstars XI: VanOekel; Davis, Dias, Altman, Kallman; Ibarra, Hlavaty, Takada, Venegas; Bracalello, Nunez #mnstars bench: Hildebrandt, Tchoupe, Tobin, Wasson, Ibrahim, Walker, Del Do
San Jose Starting XI: Bingham, Beitashour, Opara, Hernandez, Corrales, Chavez, Alexandre, Moreno, Garza, Gordon, Lenhart Bench: Newton, Baca, Cronin, Dawkins, Morrow, Diaz Pizarro, Ring
NY RB: Starting XI: Meara, Barklage, Holgersson, Conde, Pearce, Solli, McCarty, Ballouchy, Lade, Arteaga, Cooper Subs: Vuolo, Maduro, Borrajo, Keel
Harrisburg:
Starting #ChivasUSA: Melia; Riley, McKenzie, Califf, Gordon; Gavin, Vagenas, Moreno, Courtois; Correa, Agudelo Bench: Kennedy; Valencia; Zemanski, Smith; Romero, Angel
RailHawks 11: GK Burse, D Elenio, D Agbossoumonde, D King, D Low (c), M Zimmerman, M Lowery, M Ortiz, M Da Luz, F Schilawski, F Shriver RailHawks Subs: GK Fitzgerald, D Finch, D Krause, M Millington, M Palacio, M Shipalane, F Ackley
Philadelphia 11: MacMath, Gaddis, Okugo, Valdes, G. Farfan, M. Farfan, Carroll, Lahoud, Adu; Martinez, Pajoy SUBS: Konopka, McLaughlin, Hoffman, Hoppenot, Hernandez, Pfeffer, Herdling
DC Starting XI: Hamid; Russell, McDonald, Dudar, Woolard; Najar, Kitchen, Boskovic, DeLeon; Salihi, Wolff (c) SUBS: Santos, King, Neal, Saragosa, Korb, White, Willis
Dayton XI: Williams, Smith, Copier, Dins, Preciodo, Delass, Knotek, Jones, Garner, Bartels, Bardsley. Dayton bench: Holloway, Robinson, DeGron, McNamara, Earton.
Michigan Bucks XI: Grinwis, Cope, Harris, Barson, Givens, Boyden, Caldwell, Catalono, Omekanda, Crnkia, Miller. Bucks bench: Teepn, Dillon, Saas, Steiberner, Grant, St. Louis, Uzoigwe.
Colorado: Pickens; Kimura, Marshall, Palguta, Freeman; Rivero, Larentowicz, Castrillon; Thompson, Edu, Cascio in a 4-3-3. subs: Ceus, Zapata, Ababio, Nane, LaBauex, Hill, and Akpan
Kansas City Starting XI: Nielsen(c); Sinovic, Besler, Collin, Myers; Cesar, Joseph, Zusi; Sapong, Bunbury, Peterson. subs: Kempin, Olum, Harrington, Saad, Thomas, Miller, Warzycha.
@SAScorpions Starting XI: Sattler; Cochrane, Wagner, Greenfield, Janicki; Pitchkolan, Harmse, Ramirez, Denissen; Campos, Bayona.
Charlotte Eagles Starting XI: Irwin; Bloom, Bateau, Grovsis, Rife; Guzman, Kabwe, Thornton, Toby; Roberts, Salles
#Sounders starters: Meredith, Scott, Parke, JKH, Burch, Cato, Alonso, Rose, Caskey, Ochoa, Montero. Sounders FC bench – Weber, Carrasco, Estrada, Evans, Fernandez, Levesque, Seamon.
Cal FC XI – Carrillo, Navarro, Espinosa, Randolph, Menjivar, Gonzalez, Arreola, Cruz, Aghasyan, Danny Barrera, Diego Barrera. Cal FC bench – Grill, Caceres, Werring, Paulo Ferreira-Mendez, Pedro Ferreira-Mendez, Torres, Riviera.
#mnstars XI: VanOekel; Davis, Dias, Altman, Kallman; Ibarra, Hlavaty, Takada, Venegas; Bracalello, Nunez #mnstars bench: Hildebrandt, Tchoupe, Tobin, Wasson, Ibrahim, Walker, Del Do
San Jose Starting XI: Bingham, Beitashour, Opara, Hernandez, Corrales, Chavez, Alexandre, Moreno, Garza, Gordon, Lenhart Bench: Newton, Baca, Cronin, Dawkins, Morrow, Diaz Pizarro, Ring
Saturday, June 2, 2012
Affiliation, Brotherly Love at question with Harrisburg-Philadelphia Quarterfinal pairing
When the US Soccer Federation announced the Quarterfinal scenarios Saturday there was one surprise among them, the potential pairing of USL Pro’s Harrisburg City Islanders and the Philadelphia Union of MLS. The two sides have been official affiliate partners since 2010 and it was believed that the two would not be slated to face one another unless they both reached the championship match.
That belief was based primarily upon the 2012 US Open Cup Handbook given to the clubs prior to the tournament, laying out the rules and procedures of the competition.
In the 2012 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup’s Competition Handbook under 2012 US Open Cup Competition Format, it states:
In the section listing the competition’s entrants – as were known at the time of publication (no USASA, USCS or NPSL clubs) – there were eight sets of affiliations listed with the accompanying note.
While the list did not include the Harrisburg City Islanders and the Philadelphia Union as affiliates, it did however contain the Union and Reading United AC. Both clubs are described as an “affiliate partner” in recent news releases earlier this spring concerning exhibition friendlies set to take place this summer with trips to Harrisburg June 12 and Reading June 9 during the club’s break for the FIFA international competition window. It is unknown at this time if the Harrisburg friendly will be canceled if the two advance to play one another.
Upon obtaining the US Open Cup Handbook prior to the tournament, TheCup.us inquired with US Soccer as to why the Harrisburg-Philadelphia affiliation partnership was not listed thinking that it may have been an innocent oversight as it was a new section added to the handbook from the previous year. It would not have been the only error in the handbook, as it has been since discovered that four players were also erroneously listed in the suspension list that had already served their penalties, creating confusion over the eligibility of Rochester’s Danny Earls prior to the club’s first match.
Follow-up requests for information regarding the USSF’s stance on the affiliation between the clubs was met with indecision and a few weeks ago the federation said they were “reviewing the relationship between Harrisburg and the Philadelphia Union, but currently they are not in the same bracket” after stating that “a clear example of a relationship is a situation where an organization has control or ownership of two or more teams. Teams with player development arrangements are also considered to have a relationship in most cases.”
However.
Clearly, with the two teams scheduled to meet in the next round if they both win, USSF believes that Harrisburg and Philadelphia do not have a close enough relationship to warrant avoiding them meeting until the Final.
According to Philadelphia’s March 1, 2010 news release [Union Partner with City Islanders: City Islanders to be Exclusive USL-2 Affiliate Club], the team was “further extending the Major League Soccer club’s player development model. The City Islanders will be Philadelphia Union’s Exclusive USL-2 Affiliate Club.”
These factors and comments clearly show the two clubs as affiliates that would warrant separation in the tournament until the Final as per the handbook and response from USSF. Given the movement of numerous players over the years, the staffs of the City Islanders and Union clearly are in regular coordination with one another. And perhaps more importantly, the presence of annual scheduled exhibition matches present a significant financial incentive to the City Islanders that make them subservient to the Union and – without accusation that they actually would – place them in a position of wanting to please Philadelphia in a manner that could result in impropriety, which is the entire reason that the ‘affiliation rule’ exists.
That belief was based primarily upon the 2012 US Open Cup Handbook given to the clubs prior to the tournament, laying out the rules and procedures of the competition.
In the 2012 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup’s Competition Handbook under 2012 US Open Cup Competition Format, it states:
General Provision: Pairings will be arranged to prevent the possibility of a lower division team playing a parent club (e.g. Chicago Fire PDL [PDL] will not be pitted against the Chicago Fire [MLS], should both teams be in the competition in the same round) except for the Championship Game.
In the section listing the competition’s entrants – as were known at the time of publication (no USASA, USCS or NPSL clubs) – there were eight sets of affiliations listed with the accompanying note.
Note: Eight teams listed above have affiliations with another club in the competition. Clubs and their related affiliates are indicated with matching asterisks. See page detailing competition format to see how these affiliations will impact the tournament.
While the list did not include the Harrisburg City Islanders and the Philadelphia Union as affiliates, it did however contain the Union and Reading United AC. Both clubs are described as an “affiliate partner” in recent news releases earlier this spring concerning exhibition friendlies set to take place this summer with trips to Harrisburg June 12 and Reading June 9 during the club’s break for the FIFA international competition window. It is unknown at this time if the Harrisburg friendly will be canceled if the two advance to play one another.
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| Photo: Derek Meluzio |
Upon obtaining the US Open Cup Handbook prior to the tournament, TheCup.us inquired with US Soccer as to why the Harrisburg-Philadelphia affiliation partnership was not listed thinking that it may have been an innocent oversight as it was a new section added to the handbook from the previous year. It would not have been the only error in the handbook, as it has been since discovered that four players were also erroneously listed in the suspension list that had already served their penalties, creating confusion over the eligibility of Rochester’s Danny Earls prior to the club’s first match.
Follow-up requests for information regarding the USSF’s stance on the affiliation between the clubs was met with indecision and a few weeks ago the federation said they were “reviewing the relationship between Harrisburg and the Philadelphia Union, but currently they are not in the same bracket” after stating that “a clear example of a relationship is a situation where an organization has control or ownership of two or more teams. Teams with player development arrangements are also considered to have a relationship in most cases.”
However.
Clearly, with the two teams scheduled to meet in the next round if they both win, USSF believes that Harrisburg and Philadelphia do not have a close enough relationship to warrant avoiding them meeting until the Final.
According to Philadelphia’s March 1, 2010 news release [Union Partner with City Islanders: City Islanders to be Exclusive USL-2 Affiliate Club], the team was “further extending the Major League Soccer club’s player development model. The City Islanders will be Philadelphia Union’s Exclusive USL-2 Affiliate Club.”
It continued, saying: “The City Islanders will become a key part of Philadelphia’s player development strategy, as the club will have the option to loan players to Harrisburg for increased playing time. As partners, both clubs will also work to help identify City Islander players who have the potential to make the leap to MLS. The relationship continues the growth of Philadelphia Union’s player development strategy, building off of previously established relationships with PDL squad Reading United AC, Eastern Pennsylvania Youth Soccer Association (EPYSA), Delaware Youth Soccer Association (DYSA) and YSC Sports.”
Nick Sakiewicz, CEO & Operating Partner of Philadelphia Union, stated: “With the Harrisburg City Islanders and our previously announced relationship with Reading United AC, Philadelphia Union Team Manager Peter Nowak will instill ‘first team’ principles in training and playing attacking, attractive football throughout Pennsylvania that our supporters will truly enjoy."
City Islanders President Eric Pettis added: “We’re proud and excited to make this announcement today. Before they’ve even played a game, Philadelphia Union have proven themselves to be a truly first-class organization. Both clubs will see numerous benefits, on and off the field, as a result of this partnership. It’s a natural fit.”
The release also noted: “An annual friendly match in Harrisburg between the clubs (date to be announced) is another highlight of the partnership. Other components will include cross promotional opportunities, clinics and Philadelphia Union player appearances in Harrisburg during the summer and off-season.”
These factors and comments clearly show the two clubs as affiliates that would warrant separation in the tournament until the Final as per the handbook and response from USSF. Given the movement of numerous players over the years, the staffs of the City Islanders and Union clearly are in regular coordination with one another. And perhaps more importantly, the presence of annual scheduled exhibition matches present a significant financial incentive to the City Islanders that make them subservient to the Union and – without accusation that they actually would – place them in a position of wanting to please Philadelphia in a manner that could result in impropriety, which is the entire reason that the ‘affiliation rule’ exists.
Friday, June 1, 2012
The Week Before - Fourth Round
Only six of the of the remaining US Open Cup clubs set for the Fourth Round next week are in action between rounds as Major League Soccer is primarily idle for the FIFA international match window.
The only MLS contest on the slate for this weekend features two of the eight clubs shockingly eliminated Tuesday and Wednesday with Chicago playing New England.
In the lower divisions, however, one match-up features two of the remaining NASL clubs squaring off as the expansion San Antonio Scorpions play host to the defending league champion Minnesota Stars Saturday. The RailHawks, meanwhile, are at home versus the Puerto Rico Islanders, who are back in action after advancing to the Final Four of the Caribbean Football Union's championship last Friday.
The lone remaining PDL side, Michigan Bucks, travels to face the Cincinnati Kings Friday. In USL Pro, the Harrisburg City Islanders host the Richmond Kickers Friday and the Dayton Dutch Lions, still winless in league play, host the Charleston Battery Saturday.
Outside of the remaining eight MLS clubs, the only pro club idle over the weekend is the Charlotte Eagles.
The only MLS contest on the slate for this weekend features two of the eight clubs shockingly eliminated Tuesday and Wednesday with Chicago playing New England.
In the lower divisions, however, one match-up features two of the remaining NASL clubs squaring off as the expansion San Antonio Scorpions play host to the defending league champion Minnesota Stars Saturday. The RailHawks, meanwhile, are at home versus the Puerto Rico Islanders, who are back in action after advancing to the Final Four of the Caribbean Football Union's championship last Friday.
The lone remaining PDL side, Michigan Bucks, travels to face the Cincinnati Kings Friday. In USL Pro, the Harrisburg City Islanders host the Richmond Kickers Friday and the Dayton Dutch Lions, still winless in league play, host the Charleston Battery Saturday.
Outside of the remaining eight MLS clubs, the only pro club idle over the weekend is the Charlotte Eagles.
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
2012 Third Round Lineups - Quick Reference
We'll post the lineups here as a quick reference as we get them...
WEDNESDAY...
SILVERBACKS STARTING XI: GK Nasco; D Moroney, D Lancaster, D Burciaga, D Cox; M McManus, M O'Brien, M Turcios, Carr; F Horth, F Navia BENCH: GK Illyes, M Paulini, D Davis, D Hunt, M Colaluca, D Rilla, F Santamaria
SEATTLE SOUNDERS XI: GK Meredith; D Burch, D Parke, D Hurtado, D Scott; M Caskey, M Rose, M Alonso, M Cato; F Ochoa, F Johnson BENCH: M Evans, F Estrada, F Montero, M Carrasco, F Levesque, D Sivebaek, GK Weber
Cal FC Starting XI: Carrillo; Gonzalez, Navarro, Randolph, Espinosa; Manjivar, Arreola, Cruz, Di. Barreria; Da. Barrera, Aghasyan Subs: Rivera, Pa. Ferreira, Pe. Ferreira, Caceres, Warring, Rodra, King
Timbers: Perkins; Jewsbury-c, Mosquera, Horst, Smith; Alhassan, Chara, Nagbe, Alexander; Boyd, Perlaza Subs Bendik, Jean-Baptiste, Kawulok, Taylor, Braun, Richards, Rincon
TUESDAY...
#Kickers Starting XI: GK Pascale; D Johnson, Dos Santos, Vercollone, Görres; M Elcock, Heins, Foglesong, Nyazamba; F Yeisley, Agorsor #Kickers subs: Jones, Hiroyama, Mackenzie, Delicâte, Bulow #USOC
#DCU Starting XI: GK Willis; D White, Dudar, Korb; M Saragosa, Najar, King, Neal; F Salihi, Wolff, Santos #DCU Subs: Hamid, McDonald, Woolard, Kitchen, Morsink, Boskovic, Deleon
#Crew96 Starting XI: Lamspon, Perry, Gehrig, James, Francis, George, Grossman, Meram, Birchall, Finlay, Vargas #Crew96 Bench: Gruenebaum, Williams, Veeder, Anor, Duka, Renteria, Horton
Dayton Starting XI: Williams, Preciado, Copier, Dias, Smith, Jones, DeLass, McNamara, Garner, Bardsley, Priestly Dayton Bench: Whisenhunt, DeGroot, Robinson, Knoteli, Holowaty, Bartels, Kissinger
RailHawks 11: GK Burse, D Elenio, D Agbossoumonde, D King, D Low, M Lowery, M Zimmerman, M Da Luz, M Ortiz, F Shriver, F Schilawski RailHawks Substitutes: GK Fitzgerald, D Stockley, D Finch, M Nurse, M Shipalane, F Garey, M Palacio
LA Galaxy 11: GK Gaudette, D Lopes, D Meyer, D Leonardo, D Gaul, M Sarvas, M Jimenez, M Stephens, M Nakazawa, F Barrett, F Noonan LA Galaxy Substitutes: GK Perk, D Jordan, M Magee, M Garcia, M Walker, F Buddle
Rapids starting lineup: Ceus; Freeman, Marshall (C), Palguta, Zapata; Thompson, Henao, Hill, Castrillon; Akpan and Edu in a 4-4-2 Available subs: Joyce, Kimura, Ababio, Moor, Rivero, Nane and Cascio.
Rowdies: GK Attinella, D Sanfilippo, D Arango, D Yamada, D Washington, M Campbell, M Hill, M Savage, F Mulholland, F Ambersley, F Antoniuk
#NYRB Lineup: Meara, Barklage, Holgersson, Conde, Pearce, Solli, McCarty, Ballouchy, Lade, Arteaga, Cooper #NYRB Bench: Vuolo, Keel, Borrajo, Maduro, Palsson, Ruthven
Charleston: Duckworth, Wilson, Falvey, Hoffer, Mueller, Sanyang, Donatelli, Paterson, Cuevas, Boyd, & Bundu
Fire Starting XI: Tornaghi; Walls, Anibaba, Berry, Jumper; Videira, Paladini, Bone; Robayo; Puppo, Barouch // SUBSTITUTES: Johnson, Gargan, Segares, Watson-Siriboe, Pineda, Nyarko, Oduro.
Michigan Bucks: Grinwis; Cope, Harris, Barson, Givens; Boyen, Caldwell, Catalano, Omekanda; Crnkic, Uzoigwe (Steinberger 35') Bucks Subs: Teepen, Dillon, Opare, Ogunyemi, Grant, Miller
Philadelphia Union Starting XI: Konopka; M. Farfan, Okugo, Williams, G. Farfan; Carroll, Lahoud, Daniel, Adu; Martinez, Pajoy Bench: Hoppenot, Pfeffer, Hoffman, Jordan, Herdling, McLaughlin, Harrison
Rochester: Nicht; Traynor, Kyriazis, Roberts, Kirk; Cost, Rosenlund, Earls, Banks; McManus, Brito
Sporting KC: Kempin, Myers, Warzycha, Collin, Sinovic, Nagamura, Olum, Joseph, Peterson, Dwyer, Saad Bench: Nielsen, Besler, Bunbury, Harrington, Sassano, Sapong, Zusi
Orlando 11 Gallardo(c); Bernard, Mechack, Boden, Valentino; Campbell, O'Connor, Pulis, Molino; Chin, Watson bench: Allen, Davies, Fuller, Kelley, Ustruck
San Antonio Scorpions Starting XI: Sattler; Janicki, Blake Wagner, Kling, Cochrane, Pitchkolan, Knight, Denissen, Harmse; Bayona, Campos.
Houston Dynamo Starting XI: Deric; Creavalle, Boswell, Oscar Recio, Sturgis; Dixon, Moffat, Camargo, Clark; Kandji, Weaver.
#FCDallas XI: Seitz, John, Benitez, Hedges, Loyd, Guarda, Jackson, Jacobson, Leyva, Sealy, Top Available subs: Hartman, M. Hernandez, Ulloa, Luna, Castillo, Lee, Marcelin
Charlotte: NA
SJEarthquakes: Starting XI: Bingham, Ring, Opara, Morrow, Suggs, Cronin, Alexandre, Moreno, Garza, Lenhart, Guvenisik Bench: Newton, Baca, Beitashour, Dawkins, McLoughlin, Diaz Pizarro, Hustedt
@FTLStrikers: Glaeser, Blake, Shanosky, Stewart, Lorenz, Morales, Motagalvan, Restrepo, Pecka, Thompson, Anderson Bench : Martin, Otte, Orozco, Gebor, Hassan, Ramos, Herron
WEDNESDAY...
SILVERBACKS STARTING XI: GK Nasco; D Moroney, D Lancaster, D Burciaga, D Cox; M McManus, M O'Brien, M Turcios, Carr; F Horth, F Navia BENCH: GK Illyes, M Paulini, D Davis, D Hunt, M Colaluca, D Rilla, F Santamaria
SEATTLE SOUNDERS XI: GK Meredith; D Burch, D Parke, D Hurtado, D Scott; M Caskey, M Rose, M Alonso, M Cato; F Ochoa, F Johnson BENCH: M Evans, F Estrada, F Montero, M Carrasco, F Levesque, D Sivebaek, GK Weber
Cal FC Starting XI: Carrillo; Gonzalez, Navarro, Randolph, Espinosa; Manjivar, Arreola, Cruz, Di. Barreria; Da. Barrera, Aghasyan Subs: Rivera, Pa. Ferreira, Pe. Ferreira, Caceres, Warring, Rodra, King
Timbers: Perkins; Jewsbury-c, Mosquera, Horst, Smith; Alhassan, Chara, Nagbe, Alexander; Boyd, Perlaza Subs Bendik, Jean-Baptiste, Kawulok, Taylor, Braun, Richards, Rincon
TUESDAY...
#Kickers Starting XI: GK Pascale; D Johnson, Dos Santos, Vercollone, Görres; M Elcock, Heins, Foglesong, Nyazamba; F Yeisley, Agorsor #Kickers subs: Jones, Hiroyama, Mackenzie, Delicâte, Bulow #USOC
#DCU Starting XI: GK Willis; D White, Dudar, Korb; M Saragosa, Najar, King, Neal; F Salihi, Wolff, Santos #DCU Subs: Hamid, McDonald, Woolard, Kitchen, Morsink, Boskovic, Deleon
#Crew96 Starting XI: Lamspon, Perry, Gehrig, James, Francis, George, Grossman, Meram, Birchall, Finlay, Vargas #Crew96 Bench: Gruenebaum, Williams, Veeder, Anor, Duka, Renteria, Horton
Dayton Starting XI: Williams, Preciado, Copier, Dias, Smith, Jones, DeLass, McNamara, Garner, Bardsley, Priestly Dayton Bench: Whisenhunt, DeGroot, Robinson, Knoteli, Holowaty, Bartels, Kissinger
RailHawks 11: GK Burse, D Elenio, D Agbossoumonde, D King, D Low, M Lowery, M Zimmerman, M Da Luz, M Ortiz, F Shriver, F Schilawski RailHawks Substitutes: GK Fitzgerald, D Stockley, D Finch, M Nurse, M Shipalane, F Garey, M Palacio
LA Galaxy 11: GK Gaudette, D Lopes, D Meyer, D Leonardo, D Gaul, M Sarvas, M Jimenez, M Stephens, M Nakazawa, F Barrett, F Noonan LA Galaxy Substitutes: GK Perk, D Jordan, M Magee, M Garcia, M Walker, F Buddle
Rapids starting lineup: Ceus; Freeman, Marshall (C), Palguta, Zapata; Thompson, Henao, Hill, Castrillon; Akpan and Edu in a 4-4-2 Available subs: Joyce, Kimura, Ababio, Moor, Rivero, Nane and Cascio.
Rowdies: GK Attinella, D Sanfilippo, D Arango, D Yamada, D Washington, M Campbell, M Hill, M Savage, F Mulholland, F Ambersley, F Antoniuk
#NYRB Lineup: Meara, Barklage, Holgersson, Conde, Pearce, Solli, McCarty, Ballouchy, Lade, Arteaga, Cooper #NYRB Bench: Vuolo, Keel, Borrajo, Maduro, Palsson, Ruthven
Charleston: Duckworth, Wilson, Falvey, Hoffer, Mueller, Sanyang, Donatelli, Paterson, Cuevas, Boyd, & Bundu
Fire Starting XI: Tornaghi; Walls, Anibaba, Berry, Jumper; Videira, Paladini, Bone; Robayo; Puppo, Barouch // SUBSTITUTES: Johnson, Gargan, Segares, Watson-Siriboe, Pineda, Nyarko, Oduro.
Michigan Bucks: Grinwis; Cope, Harris, Barson, Givens; Boyen, Caldwell, Catalano, Omekanda; Crnkic, Uzoigwe (Steinberger 35') Bucks Subs: Teepen, Dillon, Opare, Ogunyemi, Grant, Miller
Philadelphia Union Starting XI: Konopka; M. Farfan, Okugo, Williams, G. Farfan; Carroll, Lahoud, Daniel, Adu; Martinez, Pajoy Bench: Hoppenot, Pfeffer, Hoffman, Jordan, Herdling, McLaughlin, Harrison
Rochester: Nicht; Traynor, Kyriazis, Roberts, Kirk; Cost, Rosenlund, Earls, Banks; McManus, Brito
Sporting KC: Kempin, Myers, Warzycha, Collin, Sinovic, Nagamura, Olum, Joseph, Peterson, Dwyer, Saad Bench: Nielsen, Besler, Bunbury, Harrington, Sassano, Sapong, Zusi
Orlando 11 Gallardo(c); Bernard, Mechack, Boden, Valentino; Campbell, O'Connor, Pulis, Molino; Chin, Watson bench: Allen, Davies, Fuller, Kelley, Ustruck
San Antonio Scorpions Starting XI: Sattler; Janicki, Blake Wagner, Kling, Cochrane, Pitchkolan, Knight, Denissen, Harmse; Bayona, Campos.
Houston Dynamo Starting XI: Deric; Creavalle, Boswell, Oscar Recio, Sturgis; Dixon, Moffat, Camargo, Clark; Kandji, Weaver.
#FCDallas XI: Seitz, John, Benitez, Hedges, Loyd, Guarda, Jackson, Jacobson, Leyva, Sealy, Top Available subs: Hartman, M. Hernandez, Ulloa, Luna, Castillo, Lee, Marcelin
Charlotte: NA
SJEarthquakes: Starting XI: Bingham, Ring, Opara, Morrow, Suggs, Cronin, Alexandre, Moreno, Garza, Lenhart, Guvenisik Bench: Newton, Baca, Beitashour, Dawkins, McLoughlin, Diaz Pizarro, Hustedt
@FTLStrikers: Glaeser, Blake, Shanosky, Stewart, Lorenz, Morales, Motagalvan, Restrepo, Pecka, Thompson, Anderson Bench : Martin, Otte, Orozco, Gebor, Hassan, Ramos, Herron
#OpenCupFan Twitter Tally Update
Well, to say the least, the response has been underwhelming. And to be frank, we are quite stunned that professional clubs are all being outdone by a team from the amateur NPSL, the Fullerton Rangers – no offense intended.
We are giving you a second chance, extending the voting period through until the completion of Round 4.
Got a US Open Cup catchphrase or slogan you want to share? We want to hear them. We have gotten a few good team-related comments like “When I tweet, I tweet for the Timbers” (Toothi), “#FourInARow” (KyleDJames) and “Hammers til I Die! All others are #sharkbait #chumchum” (BMSscienceguy), but the two Open Cup related phrases we like so far are:
“Unlike Hans Backe I am an #OpenCupFan” – ScreaminMonkey Circus (Chicago Fire)
“League owned, no longer Open Cup banned” – Doughboy767 (Minnesota Stars)
The Numbers…
Sunday, May 27, 2012
Klinsmann selections leave MLS sides mostly intact for Open Cup
With the European season concluded, impact on the US Open Cup by players being called up by the US National Team will be minimal over the next two rounds as only four Major League Soccer sides will be missing five combined players.
Jurgen Klinsmann's 23-player selection for the current five-match run that includes three friendlies and a pair of 2014 World Cup Qualifiers was made up primarily of players outside of MLS.
MLS Selections
Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake)
Geoff Cameron (Houston Dynamo)
Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake)
Landon Donovan (LA Galaxy)
Chris Wondolowski (San Jose Earthquakes)
Jurgen Klinsmann's 23-player selection for the current five-match run that includes three friendlies and a pair of 2014 World Cup Qualifiers was made up primarily of players outside of MLS.
MLS Selections
Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake)
Geoff Cameron (Houston Dynamo)
Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake)
Landon Donovan (LA Galaxy)
Chris Wondolowski (San Jose Earthquakes)
Third Round - The Week Before, League Results
Coming into the Third Round of the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup this Tuesday, a number of clubs played two games in the past week in league competition.
Major League Soccer teams make their entry into the competition this round. Seven of the eight teams that had midweek MLS contests also played on the weekend with New York Red Bulls being the only side that was idle. San Jose's second match was on Sunday versus Sporting Kansas City.
In USL Pro, Orlando City played Thursday and Saturday while the Rochester Rhinos played Friday and Saturday. The league took Sunday off, but the NASL's expansion San Antonio Scorpions were in action north of the border in Edmonton.
Major League Soccer teams make their entry into the competition this round. Seven of the eight teams that had midweek MLS contests also played on the weekend with New York Red Bulls being the only side that was idle. San Jose's second match was on Sunday versus Sporting Kansas City.
In USL Pro, Orlando City played Thursday and Saturday while the Rochester Rhinos played Friday and Saturday. The league took Sunday off, but the NASL's expansion San Antonio Scorpions were in action north of the border in Edmonton.
Thursday, May 24, 2012
The Sister Tournaments - ACC & CFU Updates
The US Open Cup is in full swing at the midway point of the month-long, four-round blitz that will take the field of 64 down to eight. Meanwhile, on Wednesday the Amway Canadian Championship crowned a winner and this weekend the Caribbean Football Union will reduce the field down to the final group for the championship round.
Both tournaments will send representatives on to this summer's CONCACAF Champions League while the Open Cup winner will join the fray for next year's CCL. And if Puerto Rico Islanders get at least a draw Friday evening in the Cayman Islands, at least one club from the North American lower divisions will advance yet again, possibly two, from the CFU.
Both tournaments will send representatives on to this summer's CONCACAF Champions League while the Open Cup winner will join the fray for next year's CCL. And if Puerto Rico Islanders get at least a draw Friday evening in the Cayman Islands, at least one club from the North American lower divisions will advance yet again, possibly two, from the CFU.
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Second Round Lineups
LINEUPS - We'll post them here as we get them...
@MichiganBucks lineup: Grimwas; Givens, Barson, Cope, Harris; Boyden, Ogumyemi, Catalano; Caldwell, Miller, Uziogwe Subs: Teepan, Saas, Hintz, Steinberger, Grnkie, Grant, St. Louis
Pittsburgh starters: 1-Hunter Gilstrap, 4-Niko Katic, 5-Sterling Flunder, 13-Louie Rolko, 23-Anthony Calvano, 2-Matt Kassel, 6-Rich Costanzo, 9-Stefan Lundberg, 21-Shintaro Harada, 7-Darren Amoo, 11-Ricky Smith
PSA Elite 11: GK Whiddon, D Dunn, D Miranda, D Smith, D Gafa, M Lopez, M Spicer, M Paul, M Whitfield, F Riemer, F Ramirez - Bench: GK Oseguera, D Turner, M Prieto, M Ontiveros, M Lopez, M Avila, F Harrington
RailHawks 11: GK Fitzgerald, D Elenio, D Agbossoumonde, D King, D Low, M Lowery, M Zimmerman, M Ortiz, M Da Luz, F Shriver, F Schilawski - Bench: GK Burse, D Shields, D Stockley, M Nurse, M Shipalane, M Palacio, F Garey
Chicago Fire PDL Starting XI: Godsey; Keller, Tiemstra, Boxall, Doody; Bushue, Ritter, Ciesulka, Shipp; Blades, Kannah - Bench: Euler, Beasley, Totsch, Engel, King, Medina, Prince
Dayton:
KC starters: Grow (GK), Marky, White, Oren Andrews, Cody Andrews, Shrout, McDaniel, Baker, Johnston, Webb, Perkins
Orlando City starters: Kelley, Mechack, Bernard, Davies, Ustruck, Fuller, Rooney, Campbell, Watson, Griffin, Luzunaris
Tampa Bay Rowdies GK Jeff Attinella, D Frankie Sanfilippo (Captain), D Andres Arango, D Draymond Washington, D Takuya Yamada, M Stuart Campbell, M Shane Hill, M Luke Mulholland, F Mike Ambersley, F Daniel Antoniuk, F Matt Clare
Jacksonville United GK Stuart McCrory, D Adam Allee, D Hollis Donaldson, D Mats Elmsater, D Jacobi Goodfellow, M Stefan Durr, M Jonathan Glenn, M Enrique Haussler, M Jay Nelson, M Tyler Williams, F Tornislav Krizanovic
@RochesterRhinos Starters-24 Nicht, 4 Zaher, 5 Traynor, 8 Rosenlund, 10 McManus, 11 Chinn, 12 Roberts, 13 Kirk, 16 Earls, 23 Hoxic, 29
Brooklyn:
Charleston Starters @Chas_Battery: Duckworth, Mueller, Falvey, Ellison, Flatley, Romero, Azira, Richter, Cuevas, Prince, & Kelly
Reading:
@ATLSilverbacks Nasco Davis Lancaster Burciaga R. Cox O'Brien Gonzalez Turcios Carr Colaluca Navia - Bench: Ati Moroney Paulini Horth Hunt Rilla Santamaria
Georgia: XI: Schultze, Nwiloh, Vania, Poku, Keene, Bacher, Bentley, Maduka, Nicholson, Sumpter, Papanikolopoulos
Richmond Kickers starting lineup: Pascale, Yomby, Kalungi, Goerres, Johnson, Dos Santos, Vercollone, Callahan, Heins, Agorsor, Yeisley
Aegean Hawks lineup:
Minnesota Stars lineup: Van Oekel: GK; Davis, Dias, Kallman, Altman: D; Hlavaty, Takada, Venegas, Ibarra: M; Bracalello, Walker: F.
Des Moines Menace Starters: GK Obando, D Deim, D Kallman, D Lopez, D Laetti, M McDaniel, M Fricke, M Jupic, M Piffer, F Ramos, F Moloto.
Harrisburg- Nicholas Noble, Stephen Basso, Tommy Brandt, Andrew Marshall, Bilal Duckett, Joseph Noone, Andrew Welker, Drew Yates, Morgan Langley, Brian Ombiji, Yann Ekra
Long Island Rough Riders- Thomas Booth, Matthew Wendelken, Timothy Parker, Tom Wharf, William Hole, Gary Flood, Adriano Gabriele, Ben Arikian, Stephan Barea, James Mulligan, Keith Detelj
Ventura County: Edwards, Rupert, Daly, Pontius, Weit, Steres, Chongo, F. Lopez, R. Lopez, Roman, Chavez
LA Blues:
@LaredoHeatSC Starting XI: Emmanuel; Carlos, Adan, Martin, Omar; Max, Gregory, Luis, de Dios; Irving, Horacio.
San Antonio Starting XI: Sattler; Cochrane, Pitchkolan, Gold, Kling; Harmse, Ramirez, Knight, Greenfield; Campos, Denissen.
El Paso & Charlotte - http://pic.twitter.com/dcr3SRup
Charlotte: Eagles lineup. GK: Irwin D: Bateau, Rife, Grousis, Jones M: Blanco, Herrera, Toby F: Roberts, Kabwe, Thornton
@MichiganBucks lineup: Grimwas; Givens, Barson, Cope, Harris; Boyden, Ogumyemi, Catalano; Caldwell, Miller, Uziogwe Subs: Teepan, Saas, Hintz, Steinberger, Grnkie, Grant, St. Louis
Pittsburgh starters: 1-Hunter Gilstrap, 4-Niko Katic, 5-Sterling Flunder, 13-Louie Rolko, 23-Anthony Calvano, 2-Matt Kassel, 6-Rich Costanzo, 9-Stefan Lundberg, 21-Shintaro Harada, 7-Darren Amoo, 11-Ricky Smith
PSA Elite 11: GK Whiddon, D Dunn, D Miranda, D Smith, D Gafa, M Lopez, M Spicer, M Paul, M Whitfield, F Riemer, F Ramirez - Bench: GK Oseguera, D Turner, M Prieto, M Ontiveros, M Lopez, M Avila, F Harrington
RailHawks 11: GK Fitzgerald, D Elenio, D Agbossoumonde, D King, D Low, M Lowery, M Zimmerman, M Ortiz, M Da Luz, F Shriver, F Schilawski - Bench: GK Burse, D Shields, D Stockley, M Nurse, M Shipalane, M Palacio, F Garey
Chicago Fire PDL Starting XI: Godsey; Keller, Tiemstra, Boxall, Doody; Bushue, Ritter, Ciesulka, Shipp; Blades, Kannah - Bench: Euler, Beasley, Totsch, Engel, King, Medina, Prince
Dayton:
KC starters: Grow (GK), Marky, White, Oren Andrews, Cody Andrews, Shrout, McDaniel, Baker, Johnston, Webb, Perkins
Orlando City starters: Kelley, Mechack, Bernard, Davies, Ustruck, Fuller, Rooney, Campbell, Watson, Griffin, Luzunaris
Tampa Bay Rowdies GK Jeff Attinella, D Frankie Sanfilippo (Captain), D Andres Arango, D Draymond Washington, D Takuya Yamada, M Stuart Campbell, M Shane Hill, M Luke Mulholland, F Mike Ambersley, F Daniel Antoniuk, F Matt Clare
Jacksonville United GK Stuart McCrory, D Adam Allee, D Hollis Donaldson, D Mats Elmsater, D Jacobi Goodfellow, M Stefan Durr, M Jonathan Glenn, M Enrique Haussler, M Jay Nelson, M Tyler Williams, F Tornislav Krizanovic
@RochesterRhinos Starters-24 Nicht, 4 Zaher, 5 Traynor, 8 Rosenlund, 10 McManus, 11 Chinn, 12 Roberts, 13 Kirk, 16 Earls, 23 Hoxic, 29
Brooklyn:
Charleston Starters @Chas_Battery: Duckworth, Mueller, Falvey, Ellison, Flatley, Romero, Azira, Richter, Cuevas, Prince, & Kelly
Reading:
@ATLSilverbacks Nasco Davis Lancaster Burciaga R. Cox O'Brien Gonzalez Turcios Carr Colaluca Navia - Bench: Ati Moroney Paulini Horth Hunt Rilla Santamaria
Georgia: XI: Schultze, Nwiloh, Vania, Poku, Keene, Bacher, Bentley, Maduka, Nicholson, Sumpter, Papanikolopoulos
Richmond Kickers starting lineup: Pascale, Yomby, Kalungi, Goerres, Johnson, Dos Santos, Vercollone, Callahan, Heins, Agorsor, Yeisley
Aegean Hawks lineup:
Minnesota Stars lineup: Van Oekel: GK; Davis, Dias, Kallman, Altman: D; Hlavaty, Takada, Venegas, Ibarra: M; Bracalello, Walker: F.
Des Moines Menace Starters: GK Obando, D Deim, D Kallman, D Lopez, D Laetti, M McDaniel, M Fricke, M Jupic, M Piffer, F Ramos, F Moloto.
Harrisburg- Nicholas Noble, Stephen Basso, Tommy Brandt, Andrew Marshall, Bilal Duckett, Joseph Noone, Andrew Welker, Drew Yates, Morgan Langley, Brian Ombiji, Yann Ekra
Long Island Rough Riders- Thomas Booth, Matthew Wendelken, Timothy Parker, Tom Wharf, William Hole, Gary Flood, Adriano Gabriele, Ben Arikian, Stephan Barea, James Mulligan, Keith Detelj
Ventura County: Edwards, Rupert, Daly, Pontius, Weit, Steres, Chongo, F. Lopez, R. Lopez, Roman, Chavez
LA Blues:
@LaredoHeatSC Starting XI: Emmanuel; Carlos, Adan, Martin, Omar; Max, Gregory, Luis, de Dios; Irving, Horacio.
San Antonio Starting XI: Sattler; Cochrane, Pitchkolan, Gold, Kling; Harmse, Ramirez, Knight, Greenfield; Campos, Denissen.
El Paso & Charlotte - http://pic.twitter.com/dcr3SRup
Charlotte: Eagles lineup. GK: Irwin D: Bateau, Rife, Grousis, Jones M: Blanco, Herrera, Toby F: Roberts, Kabwe, Thornton
Sunday, May 20, 2012
The Weekend Before Results - Second Round
While the Rochester Rhinos are no longer perfect following a draw against winless Dayton Dayton Lions, they and the Minnesota Stars remain part of a trio of teams heading into the Second Round of the US Open Cup unbeaten. Minnesota downed Fort Lauderdale in NASL action and Rochester rival Orlando City was idle in USL Pro.
The draw also kept Dayton among a trio of winless professional league clubs as the Atlanta Silverbacks lost to Tampa Bay and Carolina played to a 1-1 draw against league leading Puerto Rico in NASL action.
The season kicked off for the Long Island, but the Rough Riders fell to fellow Second Round side Reading United AC. The Michigan Bucks' opener, meanwhile, went a lot better Saturday with a 4-1 victory against expansion Chicago Inferno. In two other matches featuring a pair of Open Cup Second Round clubs, Georgia Revolution downed Jacksonville United of the NASL and in the PDL the Laredo Heat topped the El Paso, the first of back-to-back losses for the Patriots, who also lost in Austin Saturday. All three such games were decided by one goal. Also playing twice, Ventura County Fusion won both contests at home, blanking Ogden and Pali.
Follow Open Cup clubs on Twitter - Participant List [+]
THIS WEEK*
Friday, May 18
Richmond Kickers 1:1 Pittsburgh Riverhounds
Dayton Dutch Lions 1:1 Rochester Rhinos
El Paso Patriots 1:2 @ Laredo Heat
Fresno Fuego 1:3 vs Orange County
Ventura County Fusion 2:0 vs Ogden
Saturday, May 19
Puerto Rico Islanders 1:1 Carolina RailHawks
Tampa Bay Rowdies 3:2 Atlanta Silverbacks
Minnesota Stars 3:1 Fort Lauderdale Strikers
FC Edmonton 0:2 San Antonio Scorpions
Dayton Dutch Lions 0:4 Harrisburg City Islanders
Charlotte Eagles 1:1 Wilmington Hammerheads
Reading United AC 1:0 @ Long Island Rough Riders
Michigan Bucks 4:1 vs Chicago Inferno
El Paso Patriots 1:6 @ Austin
Des Moines Menace 3:2 vs Kansas City
Brooklyn Italians 2:1 @ NY AC
Georgia Revolution 2:1 @ Jacksonville United
Sunday, May 20
Ventura County Fusion 3:0 vs Pali
*Open Cup PDL/NPSL clubs included, listed first &/or bold
The draw also kept Dayton among a trio of winless professional league clubs as the Atlanta Silverbacks lost to Tampa Bay and Carolina played to a 1-1 draw against league leading Puerto Rico in NASL action.
The season kicked off for the Long Island, but the Rough Riders fell to fellow Second Round side Reading United AC. The Michigan Bucks' opener, meanwhile, went a lot better Saturday with a 4-1 victory against expansion Chicago Inferno. In two other matches featuring a pair of Open Cup Second Round clubs, Georgia Revolution downed Jacksonville United of the NASL and in the PDL the Laredo Heat topped the El Paso, the first of back-to-back losses for the Patriots, who also lost in Austin Saturday. All three such games were decided by one goal. Also playing twice, Ventura County Fusion won both contests at home, blanking Ogden and Pali.
Follow Open Cup clubs on Twitter - Participant List [+]
THIS WEEK*
Friday, May 18
Richmond Kickers 1:1 Pittsburgh Riverhounds
Dayton Dutch Lions 1:1 Rochester Rhinos
El Paso Patriots 1:2 @ Laredo Heat
Fresno Fuego 1:3 vs Orange County
Ventura County Fusion 2:0 vs Ogden
Saturday, May 19
Puerto Rico Islanders 1:1 Carolina RailHawks
Tampa Bay Rowdies 3:2 Atlanta Silverbacks
Minnesota Stars 3:1 Fort Lauderdale Strikers
FC Edmonton 0:2 San Antonio Scorpions
Dayton Dutch Lions 0:4 Harrisburg City Islanders
Charlotte Eagles 1:1 Wilmington Hammerheads
Reading United AC 1:0 @ Long Island Rough Riders
Michigan Bucks 4:1 vs Chicago Inferno
El Paso Patriots 1:6 @ Austin
Des Moines Menace 3:2 vs Kansas City
Brooklyn Italians 2:1 @ NY AC
Georgia Revolution 2:1 @ Jacksonville United
Sunday, May 20
Ventura County Fusion 3:0 vs Pali
*Open Cup PDL/NPSL clubs included, listed first &/or bold
Friday, May 18, 2012
The Weekend Before - Second Round
Nearly all of the lower division professional league clubs are in action the weekend before their entry into the 99th edition of the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup. Still unbeaten in league play are 3-0-3 Minnesota Stars of the NASL and the USL Pro duo of defending champion Orlando City (6-0-1) and Rochester Rhinos (6-0-0).
Minnesota is on a trip to Florida to face the 2-2-3 Fort Lauderdale Strikers. The Rhinos are playing host to the 0-3-2 Dayton Dutch Lions while Orlando City is idle. Also off this weekend in USL Pro are the Charleston Battery and LA Blues.
In addition to Dayton, the Atlanta Silverbacks (0-3-4) and Carolina Railhawks (0-4-4) are looking for their first wins of the league campaign. Atlanta hosts Tampa Bay Rowdies and Carolina is at home against the league-leading Puerto Rico Islanders.
In the PDL and NPSL, there had been only one meeting between two Open Cup entrants prior to the First Round (Des Moines vs Real Colorado), but this week along there are three. In the PDL, the Texas duo of the 1-0-1 El Paso Patriots square off against the 0-1-0 Laredo Heat Friday evening. On Saturday, the 0-0-1 Reading United AC face Mid Atlantic Division foes Long Islander Rough Riders, who are kicking off their league campaign. Also on Saturday, the NPSL rivals Georgia Revolution and Jacksonville United meet up.
Also finally kicking off their league campaign are the Michigan Bucks, who play host to the expansion Chicago Inferno Saturday. The Chicago Fire will not play their first PDL game until the night following the Second Round fixture, playing host to River City Rovers.
Follow Open Cup clubs on Twitter - Participant List [+]
THIS WEEK*
Friday, May 18
Richmond Kickers @ Pittsburgh Riverhounds
Dayton Dutch Lions @ Rochester Rhinos
El Paso Patriots @ Laredo Heat
Fresno Fuego vs Orange County
Ventura County Fusion vs Ogden
Saturday, May 19
Puerto Rico Islanders @ Carolina RailHawks
Tampa Bay Rowdies @ Atlanta Silverbacks
Minnesota Stars @ Fort Lauderdale Strikers
FC Edmonton @ San Antonio Scorpions
Dayton Dutch Lions @ Harrisburg City Islanders
Charlotte Eagles @ Wilmington Hammerheads
Reading United AC @ Long Island Rough Riders
Michigan Bucks vs Chicago Inferno
El Paso Patriots @ Austin
Des Moines Menace vs Kansas City
Brooklyn Italians @ NY AC
Georgia Revolution @ Jacksonville United
Sunday, May 20
Ventura County Fusion vs Pali
*Open Cup PDL/NPSL clubs included, listed first &/or bold
Minnesota is on a trip to Florida to face the 2-2-3 Fort Lauderdale Strikers. The Rhinos are playing host to the 0-3-2 Dayton Dutch Lions while Orlando City is idle. Also off this weekend in USL Pro are the Charleston Battery and LA Blues.
In addition to Dayton, the Atlanta Silverbacks (0-3-4) and Carolina Railhawks (0-4-4) are looking for their first wins of the league campaign. Atlanta hosts Tampa Bay Rowdies and Carolina is at home against the league-leading Puerto Rico Islanders.
In the PDL and NPSL, there had been only one meeting between two Open Cup entrants prior to the First Round (Des Moines vs Real Colorado), but this week along there are three. In the PDL, the Texas duo of the 1-0-1 El Paso Patriots square off against the 0-1-0 Laredo Heat Friday evening. On Saturday, the 0-0-1 Reading United AC face Mid Atlantic Division foes Long Islander Rough Riders, who are kicking off their league campaign. Also on Saturday, the NPSL rivals Georgia Revolution and Jacksonville United meet up.
Also finally kicking off their league campaign are the Michigan Bucks, who play host to the expansion Chicago Inferno Saturday. The Chicago Fire will not play their first PDL game until the night following the Second Round fixture, playing host to River City Rovers.
Follow Open Cup clubs on Twitter - Participant List [+]
THIS WEEK*
Friday, May 18
Richmond Kickers @ Pittsburgh Riverhounds
Dayton Dutch Lions @ Rochester Rhinos
El Paso Patriots @ Laredo Heat
Fresno Fuego vs Orange County
Ventura County Fusion vs Ogden
Saturday, May 19
Puerto Rico Islanders @ Carolina RailHawks
Tampa Bay Rowdies @ Atlanta Silverbacks
Minnesota Stars @ Fort Lauderdale Strikers
FC Edmonton @ San Antonio Scorpions
Dayton Dutch Lions @ Harrisburg City Islanders
Charlotte Eagles @ Wilmington Hammerheads
Reading United AC @ Long Island Rough Riders
Michigan Bucks vs Chicago Inferno
El Paso Patriots @ Austin
Des Moines Menace vs Kansas City
Brooklyn Italians @ NY AC
Georgia Revolution @ Jacksonville United
Sunday, May 20
Ventura County Fusion vs Pali
*Open Cup PDL/NPSL clubs included, listed first &/or bold
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
US Open Cup First Round - Lineups
This page is a quick reference to lineups for the 2012 First Round during match night... We don't expect to get them all, but as we do they will be compiled here...
Chicago Fire PDL - #cf97 PDL Starters J. Godsey, D. Keller, D. Tiemstra, S. Totsch, P. Doody (C); B. Wahl, J. Bushue, H. Shipp, M. Blades; I. Kannah, C. Prince SUBS: S. Euler, T. Engel, D. Figura, C. Ritter, L. Medina, M. Gutierrez, J. Torres
Croatian Eagles - CE XI: Boyd; Narciso, Patterson, Schroeder, Von Rueden; Willan, Wiedabach, Suprise, Raymonds, Anderson; A. Lauber SUBS: A. Cop, A. Cranfill, E. Crespo, I. Ksenidi, G. Mena, M. Sethi, S L Ziba
Jacksonville: Stu McCrory in goal, Adam Allee, Mats Elmsater, Jacobi Goodfellow and Hollis Donaldson in the back, Tyler Williams, Jon Glenn, Sean Steed, Qui Que Hausler and Nedim Hrustic in the middle, Tommy Krizanovic up top: playing 4:5:1
Orlando City: NA
Bavarian starters: GK 31 Rhode, D 6 Stone, D 18 Goodnetter, D 17 Krenzien, D 23 Whitehead, M 4 Hoover, M 8 Islami M 9 Herrera, M 24 Madsen, F 20 Simmons
Des Moines: GK 28 Billings, D 19 Laetti, D 16 Lopez, D 6 Diem, D 17 Lawal, M 22 Moloto, M 11 McDaniel, M 8 Fricke, 2 M Armaral, 20 M Jupic, F 7 Silva
Cal FC XI: D. Carrillo (GK), Aghasyan, Arreola, Da. Barrera, Di. Barrera, Cruz, Espinoza, Gonzalez, Manjivar, Navarro, Randolph [Carillo played for Kitsap in 2010]
Kitsap: Kitsap: Brim; Friesen, MacLeod, Johnson, Medina, Mohn, Robbins, Sampson, Bettencourt, Miley, Truax SUBS - Lubin, Fabian, Drew Jensen, Jarrett Robbins, Jamie Thomas and Sam Zipperstein make up the bench
Fresno: Goalkeeper: G. Vega; Defenders; A. Berhane, TJ Grewal, E. Gonzales, E. Ochoa; Midfielders: N. Blanco, G. Cignetti, P. Islas, A. Campos, I. Yanez; Forward: T. Reinhart;
Fullerton: gk Geovanni Hernandez df julio garrido, david arvizu, mf, alex munoz, julio madrigal, fw cristian alvarado, elves rodan
Ventura County: Hayden, Steres, Rupert, R. Lopez, Chongo, Tsonis, Daly, F. Lopez, Roman, McGlynn, T. Pontius
Chicago Fire PDL - #cf97 PDL Starters J. Godsey, D. Keller, D. Tiemstra, S. Totsch, P. Doody (C); B. Wahl, J. Bushue, H. Shipp, M. Blades; I. Kannah, C. Prince SUBS: S. Euler, T. Engel, D. Figura, C. Ritter, L. Medina, M. Gutierrez, J. Torres
Croatian Eagles - CE XI: Boyd; Narciso, Patterson, Schroeder, Von Rueden; Willan, Wiedabach, Suprise, Raymonds, Anderson; A. Lauber SUBS: A. Cop, A. Cranfill, E. Crespo, I. Ksenidi, G. Mena, M. Sethi, S L Ziba
Jacksonville: Stu McCrory in goal, Adam Allee, Mats Elmsater, Jacobi Goodfellow and Hollis Donaldson in the back, Tyler Williams, Jon Glenn, Sean Steed, Qui Que Hausler and Nedim Hrustic in the middle, Tommy Krizanovic up top: playing 4:5:1
Orlando City: NA
Bavarian starters: GK 31 Rhode, D 6 Stone, D 18 Goodnetter, D 17 Krenzien, D 23 Whitehead, M 4 Hoover, M 8 Islami M 9 Herrera, M 24 Madsen, F 20 Simmons
Des Moines: GK 28 Billings, D 19 Laetti, D 16 Lopez, D 6 Diem, D 17 Lawal, M 22 Moloto, M 11 McDaniel, M 8 Fricke, 2 M Armaral, 20 M Jupic, F 7 Silva
Cal FC XI: D. Carrillo (GK), Aghasyan, Arreola, Da. Barrera, Di. Barrera, Cruz, Espinoza, Gonzalez, Manjivar, Navarro, Randolph [Carillo played for Kitsap in 2010]
Kitsap: Kitsap: Brim; Friesen, MacLeod, Johnson, Medina, Mohn, Robbins, Sampson, Bettencourt, Miley, Truax SUBS - Lubin, Fabian, Drew Jensen, Jarrett Robbins, Jamie Thomas and Sam Zipperstein make up the bench
Fresno: Goalkeeper: G. Vega; Defenders; A. Berhane, TJ Grewal, E. Gonzales, E. Ochoa; Midfielders: N. Blanco, G. Cignetti, P. Islas, A. Campos, I. Yanez; Forward: T. Reinhart;
Fullerton: gk Geovanni Hernandez df julio garrido, david arvizu, mf, alex munoz, julio madrigal, fw cristian alvarado, elves rodan
Ventura County: Hayden, Steres, Rupert, R. Lopez, Chongo, Tsonis, Daly, F. Lopez, Roman, McGlynn, T. Pontius
Friday, May 11, 2012
TheCup.us creates Twitter Open Cup - #OpenCupFan
In the past few years, we have seen a greater percentage of clubs in Major League Soccer taking the cup more seriously on the field and many fans have also displayed the same respect for the tournament we have long held.
Now we are asking you to show that pride to the world in a super Twitter battle that is OPEN TO ALL (including the ACC/CFU event clubs), regardless if your team qualified or not.
#OpenCupFan
All you have to do is tweet mentioning @usopencup and #OpenCupFan along with the name of the club(s) you support (preferably using their twitter name). We will tally the results and announce after the completion of the US Open Cup Third Round (featuring MLS teams) which clubs have the best support overall and in each league.
Add a Slogan
Got a slogan or something creative to say to support the tourney? Include the hashtag #OpenCupFan and a panel will select the best for publication along with the Twitter battle voting updates and results. Your tweets only count once toward the tally, but feel free to submit as many #OpenCupFan comments as you wish. More importantly, make sure your friends and followers do the same!
Follow 44 of the remaining 48 teams on Twitter in one place - 2012 Entrants List
A Call for a Canadian Open Cup
Jonah Freedman of MLSsoccer.com may be onto something - though it has been a topic of discussion for a long while - with his feature column about expanding and opening the Amway Canadian Championship into an event more like the US Open Cup. The question behind the scenes over the years has been: "Can we create an Open Cup in Canada?" Politics and the same financial realities the American version faces were the main roadblocks over the years, particularly before Major League Soccer grew over the border.
With Toronto FC came a desire from the then lower division Montreal Impact and Vancouver Whitecaps to continue to show that they are just as good, despite the technical designation of the league. The three clubs, having built themselves to a professional capability on and off the field far superior to those in the other Canadian and Canadian-American leagues, came together, with the revamped CONCACAF Champions League on the horizon, and created the Canadian Championship. That event, obviously, has evolved with Vancouver and Montreal moving up to MLS while FC Edmonton was also founded.
But four years later, the question still remains. Can Canada, with a lot of fan and, seemingly, corporate support, finally expand the nation's championship event and make it open to all levels of the sport?
With Toronto FC came a desire from the then lower division Montreal Impact and Vancouver Whitecaps to continue to show that they are just as good, despite the technical designation of the league. The three clubs, having built themselves to a professional capability on and off the field far superior to those in the other Canadian and Canadian-American leagues, came together, with the revamped CONCACAF Champions League on the horizon, and created the Canadian Championship. That event, obviously, has evolved with Vancouver and Montreal moving up to MLS while FC Edmonton was also founded.
But four years later, the question still remains. Can Canada, with a lot of fan and, seemingly, corporate support, finally expand the nation's championship event and make it open to all levels of the sport?
Thursday, May 10, 2012
The Weekend Before: PDL & NPSL clubs in action
Ten clubs have already kicked off their campaigns and have a combined record of 10-5-5.
Among the clubs with multiple games already under their belts, the PDL’s Fresno Fuego and NPSL’s Brooklyn Italians are off to the best starts. Fresno, who visits Orange County Friday evening, has won all three matches. Brooklyn, which travels to Rhode Island Saturday, has won both contests on its slate.
On the other side of the ledger are the Des Moines Menace, who are winless through three. Coming off a 1-0 road loss in Springfield Wednesday, the Menace visit St Louis Saturday looking to head into the tournament on a positive note. A primary reason for the 0-2-1 start is a season-opening series with fellow Open Cup participant Real Colorado Foxes, the only league meetings between First Round clubs thus far. The Foxes won the second match, 1-0, after a 1-1 draw in the season opener of the double dip.
With the advanced time frame of the tournament, nearly a month earlier than the past, PDL clubs will go into the event without any games played for the first time. The Long Island Rough Riders and divisional foes Michigan Bucks and Chicago Fire PDL will not open their league schedules until after they begin their Open Cup campaign. In the NPSL, FC Sonic and Milwaukee Bavarians will also enter the tournament without any official matches played.
Follow 52 of the 64 teams on Twitter in one place - @USOpenCup/USOC2012Entrants
THIS WEEKEND
(Open Cup club listed first)
Friday
PDL: Orlando City U23 v Fort Lauderdale
PDL: Fresno Fuego @ Orange County
PDL: Portland Timbers U-23s v Fraser Valley
Saturday
PDL: GPS Portland Phoenix v Vermont
PDL: Carolina Dynamo v Real Maryland
PDL: Reading United AC v New Jersey
PDL: Des Moines Menace v St Louis
PDL: Laredo Heat @ Texas
PDL: Mississippi Brilla v Ocala
PDL: Real Colorado Foxes v Winnipeg
PDL: Kitsap Pumas v Fraser Valley
PDL: El Paso Patriots v Austin
NPSL: Jacksonville United v Myrtle Beach
NPSL: Georgia Revolution v Mississippi
NPSL: Brooklyn Italians @ Rhode Island
Sunday
PDL: Ventura County Fusion @ Los Angeles
PDL: Real Colorado Foxes v Winnipeg
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Canadian Championship kicks off Wednesday; Monterrey repeats as CCL champs
FC Edmonton of the NASL and Montreal Impact, in their first season as an MLS club, will play host to the first leg matches. The second leg matches for the Canadian Championship are next Wednesday, April 9.
The Vancouver Whitecaps will head north with a 4-2-2 record in league play to face the winless FC Edmonton (0-3-1), who picked up their first point two weeks ago with a scoreless draw in Puerto Rico and ended their scoreless status in a wild 4-3 loss at their home opener 10 days ago.
Vancouver has yet to win the competition, finishing as runners-up the past three years. FC Edmonton is hoping to become the second lower division side to win the competition since the Montreal Impact accomplished the feat in the inaugural edition in 2008. It will be only the second all-Canadian match this season for Vancouver, who opened the MLS season with a 2-0 victory over the visiting Impact, who were making their league debut. Sebastien Le Toux and Camilo Sanvezzo scored in the match.
Friday, April 20, 2012
Open Cup Chronicles: Hejduk and Burke
US and Columbus Crew great Frankie Hejduk announced his official retirement Thursday, returning to Columbus for a front office position after a year in Los Angeles playing for the Galaxy in 2011. Hejduk’s announcement comes just prior to another team great being honored in Richmond Saturday, Michael Burke.
In honor of both, I thought I would take a look back at their histories with the US Open Cup as most reminiscent stories about the duo will focus on their overall career achievements, which are numerous.
In honor of both, I thought I would take a look back at their histories with the US Open Cup as most reminiscent stories about the duo will focus on their overall career achievements, which are numerous.
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
This Week in US Open Cup History... Apr 9-15
[April 11, 1926] Bethlehem Steel claimed the club’s sixth and final National Challenge Cup, steamrolling St. Louis' Ben Millers, 7-2, at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn. National Soccer Hall of Fame member Archie Stark scored a hat-trick for Bethlehem. A reported 18,000 attended the match, an American record for a soccer game, although it only lasted a month.
[April 11, 1937] In the first leg of the National Challenge Cup final, Shamrocks S.C. (St. Louis) defeat the New York Americans, 1-0. Eddie Kane scored the lone goal for the Shamrocks, who were appearing in their fifth straight Challenge Cup final - though they played under three different sponsors during the run.
[April 14, 1957] St. Louis' Kutis S.C. won the National Challenge Cup, defeating New York Hakoah in the second leg of the final, 3-1, at Zerega Oval in the Bronx. Billy Looby, Richard Meisemann and Bob Roney scored for Kutis, giving them a 6-1 aggregate victory.
[April 15, 1928] In the second leg of the National Challenge Cup final, The New York Nationals defeated Bricklayers S.C. (Chicago) 3-0, at Soldier Field in Chicago. George Henderson scored twice in the first half, and Siegfried Wortmann added the final goal in the second half. The win marked only the third time in the 15 years since the competition began that a club from New York took home the cup.
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
This Week in US Open Cup History... Apr 3-8
[April 4, 1920] Robins Dry Dock (NYC) defeated Bethlehem Steel 1-0 in the quarterfinals, denying Bethlehem a shot at winning a third straight National Challenge Cup title, and a sixth straight final appearance. With the string snapped, Bethlehem Steel would not reach the championship game again until winning it all in 1926.
[April 4, 1925] In an all-Massachusetts semifinal, the Shawsheen Indians (Andover, MA) reach the National Challenge Cup Final with a 2-1 win over Abbot Worsted (Forge Village, MA). The Indians would lift the cup that year as the first Massachusetts club outside of Fall River to win the title.
[April 5, 1931] In the first leg of the National Challenge Cup final, the Fall River Marksmen defeated Chicago's Bricklayers S.C. 6-2 at the Polo Grounds in New York, with Bert Patenaude scoring five goals for the winners. The Marksmen by this time had moved to New York, competing in the ASL as the Yankees, but retained the Marksmen name for cup play, since the club was still in Fall River, Mass. when the competition began.
[April 6, 1930] The Fall River Marksmen claim their third National Challenge Cup title in seven years, defeating Bruell Insurance 2-1 in the second leg played at Luna Park in Cleveland. Alex McNab and Bob McAuley scored for Fall River to finish the aggregate score at 9-3.
[April 7, 1929] In the second leg of the National Challenge Cup , in front of 20,000 at Dexter Park in Brooklyn, New York Hakoah defeated Madison Kennels of St. Louis, 3-0, to win the cup on 5-0 aggregate. Erno Schwarz, Max Gruenwald and Moritz Haeusler scored for Hakoah. The cup was without several of the top clubs from the northeast, since the ASL barred clubs from entering the tournament. The league was at odds with the USFA, in what was known as the "Soccer War".
[April 8, 1934] In the second of three legs in the National Challenge Cup final, at Coats Field in Pawtucket, the Pawtucket Rangers defeated Stix, Bear & Fuller 3-2. Robert McIntyre scored twice for Pawtucket, and Jimmy McAuley added the other goal. The St. Louis club won the first leg over Rangers, 4-2.
Monday, April 2, 2012
This Day in US Open Cup History... April 2
[1938] This year, it was the New York Americans who were on the rotten end of a second leg comeback. St. Mary's Celtic (NYC) trailed 2-1 after the first leg, but took the second leg 3-0 to advance to the final, by a 4-2 aggregate score, denying New York a chance to repeat as cup champions. St. Mary's would lose the final to Chicago's Sparta Garden City 6-2 on aggregate.
[1927] As far as we know, there is nothing significant about the Providence Clamdiggers defeating J & P Coats 3-2 in a battle of Rhode Island clubs in the opening round of the 1927 National Challenge Cup. We just think Clamdiggers is a unique team name. The Clamdiggers only qualified for the cup three times in their history (1926, 1927, 1928).
[1932] After the first leg of the National Challenge Cup final drew 3-3, New Bedford Whalers win the title with a 5-2 second leg thumping of Stix, Baer & Fuller (8-5 aggregate). Tec White, Werner Nilsen, Billy Gonsalves, Bill McPherson, and Tom Florie all scored for the Whalers who played both legs of the final in front of Stix, Baer & Fuller's home fans at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis. More than 7,000 fans attended both games which were played a week apart.
Sunday, April 1, 2012
This Day in US Open Cup History... April 1
[1934] In the first leg of the National Challenge Cup final at St. Louis, Stix, Bear & Fuller, of St. Louis, defeated Pawtucket Rangers 4-2. Hall of Famers Alex McNab, Billy Gonsalves and Werner Nilsen scored goals for the winners.
Saturday, March 31, 2012
Today in US Open Cup history... March 31
[1929] New York Hakoah defeated Madison Kennels of St. Louis 2-0, in the first leg of the National Challenge Cup final at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis. Josef Eisenhoffer and Siegfried Wortmann scored for Hakoah.
Friday, March 30, 2012
Today in US Open Cup history... March 30
The teams met two weeks later in Detroit for the replay, and played to a 2-2 draw, again after extra time. After the first thirty minutes of extra time, referee Jack Wilson ordered another thirty minutes as he was under orders from the USFA that the match was to produce a winner.
Sparta refused to continue playing, and Wilson awarded the match to Chrysler by forfeit. Chrysler and their supporters thought it was a ploy to avoid losing the match, since they figured the Sparta players were getting tired, and would concede the winning goal.
Sparta filed a protest, stating that since Chrysler were not forced to play an extra thirty minutes in the first match, they had no reason to do so in the replay. The USFA sided with Sparta, and ordered a replay for March 29.
Chrysler then made a request to push back the replay date, arguing that since they had learned of the date a mere four days before, they needed time to get their players off of WWII defense jobs. When the USFA secretary James Armstrong declared in a telegram that a failure to show for the match would "mean forfeiture of the game and also result in further drastic action," Chrysler decided to disband and withdraw from all soccer competitions.
Three days later the Detroit club reconsidered their stance and offered to play the match on April 5, but the USFA ruled that it was too late.
[1924] In front of 14,000 fans at High School Field in St. Louis, the Fall River Marksman defeated Vesper Buick (St. Louis) 4-2 in the National Challenge Cup final. Twice Fall River took the lead only to see Vesper tie the score. It wasn't until Johnny Ried's second half goal that Fall River would take the lead for good, with Harold Brittan scoring in the final minute to put the game away.
[1930] Fall River Marksmen defeat Bruell Insurance of Cleveland 7-2 in the first leg of the National Challenge Cup final at the Polo Grounds in New York. Jimmy McAuley & Werner Nilsen each had hat tricks for Fall River.
Thursday, March 22, 2012
Incentivizing the US Open Cup for casual fans
The Seattle Sounders have made the US Open Cup a must-see competition for fans to attend. Now, the Philadelphia Union may be onto something else that could help bolster support for the event when they make their tournament debut later this spring.
The club has a “Loyalty Rewards” program that awards season ticket holders for just about everything. Obviously, the main portion of the points distributed to fans is for match attendance, but the system also rewards fans for watching road games and attending additional team-related events in the community. The best feature in the program is the variety of points awarded for home matches, rewarding fans that attend games that are midweek and/or against less popular opponents with more points than weekend fixtures against the most popular sides.
Though the story does not specifically mention US Open Cup contests, one would have to expect that if the Union play host to a game in the tournament, its fans would be able to receive a high value in points for going to the midweek contest against what is likely to be a lower division opponent.
Since the club has not qualified for the tournament in its brief history and has a fervent fan base, one would assume that the club would draw well regardless of the presence of the rewards system. However; for the good of the tournament, it is great that a program like this is in place in Philadelphia and being explored by many other teams around the league.
If it is not obvious at this point, I clearly like this program. And, I am glad to hear there is vast interest in it being duplicated around the league, and around the world.
My hope: that it is expanded to a co-operational, multi-national program led by MLS, the USSF and the CSA that includes the lower divisions, the women’s game and, most importantly, communities that do not have professional clubs. There are a lot of casual fans that I think could be converted into more loyal supporters of the game if there was a reason not to shrug off attending a lower division game or international friendly in their own back yard – there are certainly enough empty seats available.
There is no reason why loyal Sounders fans should not also be rewarded for being league fans that watch all MLS matches or attend a game between Chivas USA and FC Dallas at the HDC while in California for a Disney adventure with the kids. Season ticket holders for Toronto FC that attend every game should be able to buy discounted CSA match tickets and people who buy tickets to youth national team friendlies should earn credit toward their favorite pro club.
Sometimes players are forced to choose between club or country – there is no reason why fans should have to do the same.
At the very least, Major League Soccer should develop a league-wide program to drive support of the game nationwide instead of just a handful of the biggest cities. It would certainly be a great way of gauging potential expansion support as well as developing the soccer culture in places that need a boost.
The club has a “Loyalty Rewards” program that awards season ticket holders for just about everything. Obviously, the main portion of the points distributed to fans is for match attendance, but the system also rewards fans for watching road games and attending additional team-related events in the community. The best feature in the program is the variety of points awarded for home matches, rewarding fans that attend games that are midweek and/or against less popular opponents with more points than weekend fixtures against the most popular sides.
 |
| Reward fans who support both | @FCDallas Facebook |
Since the club has not qualified for the tournament in its brief history and has a fervent fan base, one would assume that the club would draw well regardless of the presence of the rewards system. However; for the good of the tournament, it is great that a program like this is in place in Philadelphia and being explored by many other teams around the league.
If it is not obvious at this point, I clearly like this program. And, I am glad to hear there is vast interest in it being duplicated around the league, and around the world.
My hope: that it is expanded to a co-operational, multi-national program led by MLS, the USSF and the CSA that includes the lower divisions, the women’s game and, most importantly, communities that do not have professional clubs. There are a lot of casual fans that I think could be converted into more loyal supporters of the game if there was a reason not to shrug off attending a lower division game or international friendly in their own back yard – there are certainly enough empty seats available.
There is no reason why loyal Sounders fans should not also be rewarded for being league fans that watch all MLS matches or attend a game between Chivas USA and FC Dallas at the HDC while in California for a Disney adventure with the kids. Season ticket holders for Toronto FC that attend every game should be able to buy discounted CSA match tickets and people who buy tickets to youth national team friendlies should earn credit toward their favorite pro club.
Sometimes players are forced to choose between club or country – there is no reason why fans should have to do the same.
At the very least, Major League Soccer should develop a league-wide program to drive support of the game nationwide instead of just a handful of the biggest cities. It would certainly be a great way of gauging potential expansion support as well as developing the soccer culture in places that need a boost.
Thursday, March 8, 2012
MLS sides open CCL Quarterfinal play
Playing in the tournament courtesy of winning the 2010 edition of the US Open Cup, the Sounders led at the half, 1-0, courtesy of David Estrada despite four starters arriving late due to traffic congestion. Former USL First Division Sounder and US international Herculez Gomez tallied in the second half to equalize the contest only to see Brad Evans struck in the 63rd for a 2-1 lead heading into the second leg.
Toronto FC, however, were unable to hold onto their lead in the earlier of the two contests. Up 2-0 early on goals from Ryan Johnson and Luis Silva in the first 17 minutes, the Canadian club could not hold onto the advantage as the Galaxy roared back. Landon Donovan found Sean Franklin, who whipped a cross to Mike Magee in the 22nd minute. Donovan later struck for the equalizer himself with two minutes remaining.
On the other side of the bracket, defending CCL champion Monterrey won 3-1 on the road versus fellow Mexican side Morelia Tuesday evening. The final first leg quarterfinal contest is Thursday evening as Mexico's Pumas travels to El Salvador to play Metapan.
Monday, March 5, 2012
New York Inter-Giuliana & the 1976 CONCACAF Championship
Check out this story: CD Aguila captures 1976 CONCACAF Champions' Cup
Related Open Cup History
Entrants as the 1975 US Open Cup runners-up, New York Inter-Giuliana were the sixth club to represent the tournament, ending a four-year absence since 1970 champion Elizabeth SC played in the 1971 event.
NYIG faced a Canadian foe in the 1976-77 CONCACAF Championship's opening round, the First Round in the North American Zone. They fell 3-2 in the first leg and again, 2-1, in the return leg for a 5-3 aggregate series loss to Toronto Italia. Toronto, though, would withdraw before playing Mexico's Leon in the NAZ Final, sending the Mexicans onto the tournament semifinals and the dramatic conclusion in which an on-field-fight ended the series.
The club was slated to make a second consecutive appearance in the confederation's championship a year later also as Open Cup finalists. However, the team withdrew from the tournament in which they were slated to play Club America in the North American Zone Final as there were no entrants from Canada. Club America would win that tournament as chronicled in this CONCACAF Retro story: Club America wins first two international titles in 1978
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Friday, March 2, 2012
Backe-tracking On the Open Cup
When New York Red Bulls head coach Hans Backe told New York Post writer Brian Lewis that his club was going to try to win it all this year, including the US Open Cup, many around the metropolis and the nation met it with disbelief. But maybe, just maybe, the coach learned something from last year’s occurrence and is approaching 2012 with a better plan of attack.
If there were any doubts out there, he tried to put them to rest, reiterating Monday on MLSsoccer.com’s Extra Time Radio podcast what he told Lewis.
“We will have much better depth, there’s no question about it. We will have at least 18-20 (solid) players, good footballers,’’ Backe said to Lewis in early February. “Also, now with the new schedule this season, not playing that many games during FIFA dates, we can definitely have a priority with the Open Cup.
“I say we should try to go for it all; the Open Cup, the Shield, the MLS Cup. We have a very good squad this year.’’
That was the shocking statement that incited chuckles. It was hard to believe he would actually say that given his apathetic approach to the quarterfinal against the Fire in which he sent Mike Petke, the third in command, to coach a squad of nearly all reserves in Chicago. While many teams in the past had given half-hearted efforts with reserve players in the lineup, arguably none had so blatantly snubbed the tournament.
Even the post-game report for the team’s site from the league contest before the Open Cup fixture openly flaunted Backe’s lack of concern for the game with the following:
Not a Priority – After the match, attention turned to Tuesday night, when the Red Bulls play the Chicago Fire in the U.S. Open Cup. Backe said that it will be mainly reserves and substitutes in the Starting XI for the quarterfinal match.
“I think we just travel with probably, if were a little bit lucky with no injuries, 13 outfield players and two goalies,” Backe said the story’s writer Kristian Dyer. “And it has to be two of these guys who played today probably as a starter has to be involved in the Cup game on Tuesday.”
The news of Backe’s decision was met with much derision at the time, prompting local writer M.L. Conroy of Once a Metro to say the following: "On Backe's current list of priorities, winning the US Open Cup would seem to rank somewhere behind re-arranging his sock drawer."
And it was not just in New York that the moves were met with discontent. Apparently the Chicago Fire players took the news as a slap in the face as well.
Soccer By Ives writer Anthony Zilis said that “though Chicago coach Frank Klopas didn't offer any comment on the matter, the Fire players definitely had it on their minds.”
"We took it personally," Fire midfielder Patrick Nyarko said after the game. "Before the game we talked about punishing this team, beating them 5-0."
Backe still says that the issue last season was the high number of international fixtures that pulled away many of his players, leaving him with little depth. The plan was to rest his starters, who had played in a 5-0 win over Toronto and 1-0 loss to DC, both at home, on July 6 and 9, respectively, prior to the July 12 Open Cup match. In hindsight it did not prove to make much difference as the club went without a win in their next seven league fixtures (0-2-5) after the 4-0 exit from the US Open Cup, leaving them in danger of not qualifying for the postseason. They would earn the final berth, ironically, over Open Cup finalist Chicago by three points.
On Extra Time, Backe discussed the club’s proactive efforts to build more depth into the roster, telling them they looked much more at USL players for more experience playing competitive soccer to give them better depth. He equated the better depth to better training and thusly better game performances.
Backe also expressed his pleasure over the new format of the MLS schedule that will see his team playing more games against conference opponents, meaning less travel, and a lighter schedule on the international front.
Then came the all-important question: What are his goals – did he want to aim for the Supporters’ Shield or MLS Cup?
And, believe it or not, Backe actually voluntarily led off talking about competing for the US Open Cup.
“I think we will look even for the open cup this year because of the schedule we have and the travels. And suddenly we can definitely try to have that as a priority - the open cup too. I think we would like to go for all of it. I think we just, I think we have still enough talented group to be up there and to compete for the cup shield or the MLS cup. Of course, normally you don’t just win everything, but we need to win something this year - one of these three cups.”
If there were any doubts out there, he tried to put them to rest, reiterating Monday on MLSsoccer.com’s Extra Time Radio podcast what he told Lewis.
“We will have much better depth, there’s no question about it. We will have at least 18-20 (solid) players, good footballers,’’ Backe said to Lewis in early February. “Also, now with the new schedule this season, not playing that many games during FIFA dates, we can definitely have a priority with the Open Cup.
“I say we should try to go for it all; the Open Cup, the Shield, the MLS Cup. We have a very good squad this year.’’
That was the shocking statement that incited chuckles. It was hard to believe he would actually say that given his apathetic approach to the quarterfinal against the Fire in which he sent Mike Petke, the third in command, to coach a squad of nearly all reserves in Chicago. While many teams in the past had given half-hearted efforts with reserve players in the lineup, arguably none had so blatantly snubbed the tournament.
Even the post-game report for the team’s site from the league contest before the Open Cup fixture openly flaunted Backe’s lack of concern for the game with the following:
Not a Priority – After the match, attention turned to Tuesday night, when the Red Bulls play the Chicago Fire in the U.S. Open Cup. Backe said that it will be mainly reserves and substitutes in the Starting XI for the quarterfinal match.
“I think we just travel with probably, if were a little bit lucky with no injuries, 13 outfield players and two goalies,” Backe said the story’s writer Kristian Dyer. “And it has to be two of these guys who played today probably as a starter has to be involved in the Cup game on Tuesday.”
The news of Backe’s decision was met with much derision at the time, prompting local writer M.L. Conroy of Once a Metro to say the following: "On Backe's current list of priorities, winning the US Open Cup would seem to rank somewhere behind re-arranging his sock drawer."
And it was not just in New York that the moves were met with discontent. Apparently the Chicago Fire players took the news as a slap in the face as well.
Soccer By Ives writer Anthony Zilis said that “though Chicago coach Frank Klopas didn't offer any comment on the matter, the Fire players definitely had it on their minds.”
"We took it personally," Fire midfielder Patrick Nyarko said after the game. "Before the game we talked about punishing this team, beating them 5-0."
Backe still says that the issue last season was the high number of international fixtures that pulled away many of his players, leaving him with little depth. The plan was to rest his starters, who had played in a 5-0 win over Toronto and 1-0 loss to DC, both at home, on July 6 and 9, respectively, prior to the July 12 Open Cup match. In hindsight it did not prove to make much difference as the club went without a win in their next seven league fixtures (0-2-5) after the 4-0 exit from the US Open Cup, leaving them in danger of not qualifying for the postseason. They would earn the final berth, ironically, over Open Cup finalist Chicago by three points.
On Extra Time, Backe discussed the club’s proactive efforts to build more depth into the roster, telling them they looked much more at USL players for more experience playing competitive soccer to give them better depth. He equated the better depth to better training and thusly better game performances.
Backe also expressed his pleasure over the new format of the MLS schedule that will see his team playing more games against conference opponents, meaning less travel, and a lighter schedule on the international front.
Then came the all-important question: What are his goals – did he want to aim for the Supporters’ Shield or MLS Cup?
And, believe it or not, Backe actually voluntarily led off talking about competing for the US Open Cup.
“I think we will look even for the open cup this year because of the schedule we have and the travels. And suddenly we can definitely try to have that as a priority - the open cup too. I think we would like to go for all of it. I think we just, I think we have still enough talented group to be up there and to compete for the cup shield or the MLS cup. Of course, normally you don’t just win everything, but we need to win something this year - one of these three cups.”
Monday, February 20, 2012
This Day in US Open Cup History… and the Holiday
Today’s historical look back in time will be a two-parter. First we’ll do the usual ‘This Day’ feature, followed by a look back at the tournament in honor of Presidents Day.
This Day in US Open Cup History:
In 1944, Brooklyn Hispano defeated Eintracht SC 3-0 in the Quarterfinals of their championship tournament campaign. It was an impressive run by Brooklyn Hispano as they won every game in that tournament by shutout with the exception of the Second Round in which they were forced to play two replays to get past local rival Brooklyn Wanders. They opened the tournament with a 4-0 victory against Brooklyn Germans in the Round of 32. The following round the Wanderers took them to a 3-3 stalemate January 23 that continued in a 4-4 extra time draw a week later. On February 6, Hispano finally had the edge, 3-2, when the final whistle sounded, once again in overtime. After two weeks off, it became smooth sailing as they blanked Eintracht to advance to the semifinals, where they posted another 3-0 victory against Kearny Celtic March 5. The Final, May 14, finished as the tournament began with a 4-0 win against Morgan Strasser at the Polo Grounds in New York.
PRESIDENTS DAY
Public observance of the holiday has changed over the years for a day that is still officially a federal holiday for Washington’s Birthday. Since it was unofficially expanded to include Lincoln’s birthday and other applicable presidents in other states, I thought it would be interesting to take a look back in Open Cup regard to who the President of the United States was when the tournament started in 1913-14: Woodrow Wilson. Upon review, I have to say: for a president that is not discussed much, a lot happened before, during and because of his presidency that had long-term effects for the nation.
Woodrow Wilson: The 28th President of the United States was in office for two terms from 1913-1921, serving over the course of the First World War. Prior to becoming President, the Democrat served as Governor from 1911-13 for the state of New Jersey – a hotbed for American soccer at the time.
President Wilson & Sports: Wilson has a few interesting sports facts related to him. He was the first sitting President to attend a World Series game, and also first to throw out the first pitch at a World Series game (1915). He was also an avid cyclist and holds the record among presidents for most rounds of golf, playing over 1,000 rounds, which is almost every other day – the Secret Service even painted the balls black so he could play during the winter on the White House lawn... In an indirect soccer link: Among all the things named after him (and other US Presidents), one is section of a major roadway, the Rambla Presidente Wilson, in Montevideo, Uruguay - the site of the first World Cup in 1930.
President Wilson Facts: In 1929 he was the President issued on the $100,000 bill - the highest ever issued by the United States, though only used as transfers between Federal Reserve banks... He is the only president buried in Washington DC (Washington National Cathedral)... He is the only president to hold an earned PhD and only one to serve in a political office in New Jersey... As president, he nominated the first Jew to the Supreme Court, Louis Brandeis (1916)... During the 1912 election, Wilson was the candidate that was the impetus behind the African American population shifting from Abraham Lincoln' Republican Party to the Democratic Party... Wilson was also a large rationale for the 25th Amendment concerning ‘succession to the Presidency’ due to his struggles with incapacitation during the presidency... In 1914, the US made a declaration of neutrality regarding World War I and he was re-elected in 1916 with a campaign of "He kept us out of war," but war would later be declared in 1917... His first wife Ellen died in August 1914, but he would remarry in 1915... Though Wilson worked to integrate immigrants into the Democratic Party, he had issues due to the Irish-American community's dislike of the UK. They opposed the idea of the US being war allies with the British, but liked that Wilson promised to request Ireland independence only to be disappointed when he reneged at Versailles.
US OPEN CUP DURING WILSON PRESIDENCY
The US Open Cup, then known as the National Challenge Cup, was launched by the new USFA with 40 of the 287 invited clubs taking part. The tournament began in November of 1913 and concluded May 16 the following year with Brooklyn Field Club defeating Brooklyn Celtic, 2-1, at Coates Field (Pawtucket, RI) in front of an approximated 10,000. The club also won the 1913-14 National Association Football League (NAFBL) title and would later join the American Soccer League in 1921 before disbanding in 1924.
The tournament featured only four teams from New Jersey, where Wilson served as governor before becoming president.
Bethlehem Steel were, by far, the dominant team of the tournament during Wilson’s Presidency. They reached the final five consecutive years after Brooklyn FC won the inaugural event. Bethlehem Steel defeated Brooklyn Celtic in 1915 for their first of four championships over that span, also claiming titles in 1916, 1918 and 1919 with Fall River Rovers snaring a title of their own in 1917 to spoil a perfect run. In 1920, Ben Millers won the final National Challenge Cup title of Wilson’s Presidency, defeating Fore River. The Missouri club was the first club to not only host the final, but win the tournament championship outside of the Northeast.
PRE-US OPEN CUP
Whilst Wilson served as governor in New Jersey, two of the three American Cup (mostly clubs from northeast) champions hailed from his state. Paterson True Blues won the tournament for a third time (1896, 1909) in their eighth championship appearance in 1913 - the last edition prior to the National Challenge Cup, though the tournament continued until 1924. The club, established in 1887, disbanded two years later. In 1912, West Hudson Athletic Association became three-time champions of the American Cup (1906, 1908) in the third of four championship appearances. They defeated Paterson True Blues in the final of both of the first two titles they claimed. The 1912 win was the nation's first 'double' as they also won the NAFBL championship.
This Day in US Open Cup History:
In 1944, Brooklyn Hispano defeated Eintracht SC 3-0 in the Quarterfinals of their championship tournament campaign. It was an impressive run by Brooklyn Hispano as they won every game in that tournament by shutout with the exception of the Second Round in which they were forced to play two replays to get past local rival Brooklyn Wanders. They opened the tournament with a 4-0 victory against Brooklyn Germans in the Round of 32. The following round the Wanderers took them to a 3-3 stalemate January 23 that continued in a 4-4 extra time draw a week later. On February 6, Hispano finally had the edge, 3-2, when the final whistle sounded, once again in overtime. After two weeks off, it became smooth sailing as they blanked Eintracht to advance to the semifinals, where they posted another 3-0 victory against Kearny Celtic March 5. The Final, May 14, finished as the tournament began with a 4-0 win against Morgan Strasser at the Polo Grounds in New York.
PRESIDENTS DAY
Public observance of the holiday has changed over the years for a day that is still officially a federal holiday for Washington’s Birthday. Since it was unofficially expanded to include Lincoln’s birthday and other applicable presidents in other states, I thought it would be interesting to take a look back in Open Cup regard to who the President of the United States was when the tournament started in 1913-14: Woodrow Wilson. Upon review, I have to say: for a president that is not discussed much, a lot happened before, during and because of his presidency that had long-term effects for the nation.
Woodrow Wilson: The 28th President of the United States was in office for two terms from 1913-1921, serving over the course of the First World War. Prior to becoming President, the Democrat served as Governor from 1911-13 for the state of New Jersey – a hotbed for American soccer at the time.
President Wilson & Sports: Wilson has a few interesting sports facts related to him. He was the first sitting President to attend a World Series game, and also first to throw out the first pitch at a World Series game (1915). He was also an avid cyclist and holds the record among presidents for most rounds of golf, playing over 1,000 rounds, which is almost every other day – the Secret Service even painted the balls black so he could play during the winter on the White House lawn... In an indirect soccer link: Among all the things named after him (and other US Presidents), one is section of a major roadway, the Rambla Presidente Wilson, in Montevideo, Uruguay - the site of the first World Cup in 1930.
President Wilson Facts: In 1929 he was the President issued on the $100,000 bill - the highest ever issued by the United States, though only used as transfers between Federal Reserve banks... He is the only president buried in Washington DC (Washington National Cathedral)... He is the only president to hold an earned PhD and only one to serve in a political office in New Jersey... As president, he nominated the first Jew to the Supreme Court, Louis Brandeis (1916)... During the 1912 election, Wilson was the candidate that was the impetus behind the African American population shifting from Abraham Lincoln' Republican Party to the Democratic Party... Wilson was also a large rationale for the 25th Amendment concerning ‘succession to the Presidency’ due to his struggles with incapacitation during the presidency... In 1914, the US made a declaration of neutrality regarding World War I and he was re-elected in 1916 with a campaign of "He kept us out of war," but war would later be declared in 1917... His first wife Ellen died in August 1914, but he would remarry in 1915... Though Wilson worked to integrate immigrants into the Democratic Party, he had issues due to the Irish-American community's dislike of the UK. They opposed the idea of the US being war allies with the British, but liked that Wilson promised to request Ireland independence only to be disappointed when he reneged at Versailles.
US OPEN CUP DURING WILSON PRESIDENCY
The US Open Cup, then known as the National Challenge Cup, was launched by the new USFA with 40 of the 287 invited clubs taking part. The tournament began in November of 1913 and concluded May 16 the following year with Brooklyn Field Club defeating Brooklyn Celtic, 2-1, at Coates Field (Pawtucket, RI) in front of an approximated 10,000. The club also won the 1913-14 National Association Football League (NAFBL) title and would later join the American Soccer League in 1921 before disbanding in 1924.
The tournament featured only four teams from New Jersey, where Wilson served as governor before becoming president.
Bethlehem Steel were, by far, the dominant team of the tournament during Wilson’s Presidency. They reached the final five consecutive years after Brooklyn FC won the inaugural event. Bethlehem Steel defeated Brooklyn Celtic in 1915 for their first of four championships over that span, also claiming titles in 1916, 1918 and 1919 with Fall River Rovers snaring a title of their own in 1917 to spoil a perfect run. In 1920, Ben Millers won the final National Challenge Cup title of Wilson’s Presidency, defeating Fore River. The Missouri club was the first club to not only host the final, but win the tournament championship outside of the Northeast.
PRE-US OPEN CUP
Whilst Wilson served as governor in New Jersey, two of the three American Cup (mostly clubs from northeast) champions hailed from his state. Paterson True Blues won the tournament for a third time (1896, 1909) in their eighth championship appearance in 1913 - the last edition prior to the National Challenge Cup, though the tournament continued until 1924. The club, established in 1887, disbanded two years later. In 1912, West Hudson Athletic Association became three-time champions of the American Cup (1906, 1908) in the third of four championship appearances. They defeated Paterson True Blues in the final of both of the first two titles they claimed. The 1912 win was the nation's first 'double' as they also won the NAFBL championship.
Thursday, February 16, 2012
USASA Qualifying Update
DC / Virginia Final
The 2012 DC/Virginia Open Cup Final is this Sunday, February 19 at 2 pm ET. The match features the only two entries from the region, Aegean Hawks and Atletico VA, and will be played at Long Bridge Park in Arlington, VA.
Region IV Deadline Reminder
The registration deadline for the Region IV USASA Open Cup tournament is April 6. Teams interested in participating from the following states are eligible to play in the tournament: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming. The event will be held May 4-6 at a site to be announced.
The 2012 DC/Virginia Open Cup Final is this Sunday, February 19 at 2 pm ET. The match features the only two entries from the region, Aegean Hawks and Atletico VA, and will be played at Long Bridge Park in Arlington, VA.
Region IV Deadline Reminder
The registration deadline for the Region IV USASA Open Cup tournament is April 6. Teams interested in participating from the following states are eligible to play in the tournament: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming. The event will be held May 4-6 at a site to be announced.
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